Press Day is an annual event that occurs one day before the opening of Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. In these always over-crowded press conferences, it really becomes a schoolyard-playground brawl.

Mine is bigger than yours or mine is smaller than yours. My screen is wider, but my bevel is smaller.

The TV makers read from the same time worn scripts trying to impress their bosses with their jocularity. And this year it was worse than usual as the sameness was really dreadful.

“Our customer are demanding they must have the Internet on their TV” or “Our customers are demanding more online content.”

Almost all the big CE makers extolled how they had all their new proprietary technologies developed in-house in their headquarters. And then waxed poetic about their strategic partnerships. But I say they can’t have it both ways…either they are the great innovators or they needed partners to make them competitive. And if you haven’t heard by now, almost all have now partnered with Netflix, Youtube, or the Weather Channel.

Toshiba, a long time leader in the industry, was trying to rewrite history as their me-too introductions of SD-card slots, video gaming modes, Internet content and a list too long too mention, have been on their competitors sets for three or more years. And isn’t it time for them to have a replacement for their abandoned HD-DVD players?

It is also interesting to see and hear that the while the economy and retail nightmare continues, some manufacturers are still only making their top of the models for certain retailers. Are they in denial?

A very well respected high-end audio dealer also maintained that the company’s business model was still in place despite its worst holiday shopping year ever. “Just because of a recession, we feel there has to be a special group of elite dealers to handle our audio components.” 

I am all for preservation of brand name, image and quality of sales. But I wonder why over the last few weeks of 2008, I saw top-line Sony Bravia’s at Wal-Mart, and award-winning Sharp AQUOS at BJs, a line of Pioneer receivers on sale at Costco and a well received 2008-2009 model Panasonic Home Theater in a box at Target?

Offbeat and Cool Products That Woke Me Up
LG, somewhat taking a beating from the iPhone and other mobile phone makers, had the analysts and media excited about the first real wristwatch-mobile phone that also was a MP3 player. That will be ready in four months with as yet unannounced carrier.

And Sony, which has been taking a terrible beating from Pure Digital and Audiovox and others, introduced a really nice line of under $200 camcorders. And Audiovox will be coming out with mobile TV priced about $400 with an estimated monthly fee of about $15.

Honestech, which has been around for years under several brand names and several versions, unveiled its newest upgrade to Audio Recorder Deluxe 2.0 and VHS to DVD 3.0. These steady best sellers have been helping consumers convert VHS tapes to DVD or CD, while its Audio Recorder 2.0 program has been doing the same type of hardware conversion by taking cassette tapes, LPs and other remaining audio formats and easily converting them to CD for years.

While Pinnacle and AMD and even Sony sell hardware devices that can perform these functions, Honestech does it for about $60 for each program.

The Honestech VHS to DVD 3.0 is a USB based Capture Device for recording Analog Video (VHS, VHS-C, 8mm, HI-8) to your PC and Burning to DVD, all with one application. And that’s the key. “These are very inexpensive ways to get your old videotapes onto DVD in the easiest way possible and your LPs or audio tapes to CD. Our new features include recording to iPod or PSP and Audio Recording from tapes and LPs to Audio CD,” says a Honestech spokesman.

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